The First Facility Management Blog

Launched in 1982, WRI is an environmental think tank.

A group of corporate energy buyers announced last week that it has reached a collective goal of purchasing 1,000 megawatts of new, cost competitive power generated from renewable energy sources, enough power to displace a large coal fired power plant. Founded in 2000 by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Green Power Market Development Group (GPMDG) was designed to help some of the largest energy consumers in the U.S. purchase and support clean, renewable energy.

The Group reached its 10-year goal in nine years. The GPMDG consists of 15 companies: Alcoa Inc., Dow Chemical, DuPont, FedEx, General Motors, Georgia-Pacific, Google, IBM, Interface Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Michelin NA, Natureworks LLC, Pitney Bowes Inc., Staples, and Starbucks.

WRI also worked with Apple, BT Americas, HP, Intel, J.P. Morgan, Toyota Motor Sales, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, and Whole Foods to complete renewable energy projects that contributed to meeting the goal.

“Around the country, the legacy of passive energy consumption is being replaced with smarter, proactive energy management,” said Jonathan Lash, WRI president. “Energy, environment, and financial managers are focusing on cost and performance, and at the same time, they’re harnessing nature’s power.”

Speakers at a press conference on May 1 at WRI were Mark Buckley, vice president of Environmental Affairs at Staples; Dan Usas, global energy manager of Worldwide Energy Management at Johnson & Johnson; and Kamesh Gupta, manager of Planning and Programs at General Motors. They discussed their motivations for forming the Group and seeking renewable energy, the resulting major projects they have developed, and the “green job” impacts of their solar and wind projects.

Report from WRI Offers Guidance

As the Group reaches its goal, WRI is also releasing a new report, “Harnessing Nature’s Power: Deploying and Financing On-Site Renewable Power”. The report offers strategies and approaches that can be valuable to a wide range of firms looking at potential investments, contracts, and facility operations regarding use of renewable energy. It provides guidance on financing or purchasing renewable technologies for use at corporate facilities and advice on where to go for further information.

Comparison of the economic cost of electricity produced by renewable technologies most commonly deployed on-site, to the average retail prices paid by commercial users in 2008 (click to enlarge).

“New markets for renewable energy, emerging under state leadership, are already available, and energy prices are expected soon to incorporate the costs of emitting greenhouse gases,” said Alex Perera, a WRI senior associate and director of the GPMDG. “Forward thinking business managers are taking advantage of these opportunities to bring clean technologies to scale and take a lead in renewable energy deployment.”

The Group’s initiative is beginning to be replicated widely by a variety of entities, including large corporations as well as smaller firms such as dairy farms, hotels, restaurants, wineries, and ski resorts. And the policies adopted and investments made by the U.S. Congress and the Obama administration over the next several years will shape the country’s infrastructure for decades to come.

Perera added, “Transforming our energy system is a journey that will require continued new learning and policy innovation.”

Some of the report’s highlights include:

• A listing of federal incentives for renewable energy
• A comparison of renewable energy costs and the 2008 average U.S. commercial electricity price. The chart seen here compares the economic cost of electricity produced by the renewable technologies most commonly deployed on-site to the average retail price paid by commercial users in 2008. The comparison shows that several renewable applications compare favorably, including solar hot water, large wind, and geothermal heat pump. Solar PV is especially attractive in states that offer policy support.
• U.S. maps highlighting wind resources, solar radiation and state metering regulations
• Case studies on how companies have reduced costs with renewable energy
• New models - such as a “solar loan program” to commercial and industrial customers - that utilities have implemented to encourage renewables in their service territories
• Illustrations of the importance of allocating capital budgets to greenhouse gas reduction projects

The Dow Chemical Company (”Dow”) has succeeded in converting its first facility that manufactures STYROFOAM(TM) Brand Insulation in Dalton, GA, to its new zero ozone-depleting, no-VOC (volatile organic compound) foaming agent technology. The building industry has been watching closely to see when manufacturers will convert and how quickly they will be able to get new product into the supply chain. With Dow’s Dalton facility expected to begin shipments by the end of March, and other plants to follow in sequence throughout the year, Dow is well-positioned to complete conversion of its plants in advance of the Montreal Protocol deadline.

Torsten Kraef, vice president and general manager, Dow Building Solutions says, “With our tests completed and our ICC-ES report now in hand, we are following through on the commitment we made a little over a year ago to our customers - that the best and broadest portfolio of extruded polystyrene foam solutions in the industry will continue to be available after the Montreal Protocol deadline.”

The Montreal Protocol requires the phase-out of the hydrochloro-fluorocarbon (HCFC) 142b, an ozone-depleting compound by January 1, 2010. Dow developed its next-generation foaming agent technology well in advance of the Montreal Protocol and U.S. EPA guidelines, and is on track to convert its facilities in accordance with the Montreal Protocol.

Kraef notes, “The new U.S. Administration has put energy efficiency front and center. It is clear that we must stop the tremendous waste of energy and money spent operating poorly insulated homes, offices, schools and government buildings. That means building right the first time - with products that perform as well today as they do 60+ years from now.”

STYROFOAM Brand Insulation with the new foaming agent technology will sport the same BLUE(TM) color with the words “zero ozone depletion potential” on the product print mats and unit labels. Builders can easily validate the performance of STYROFOAM XPS Foam Insulation made with the new technology by showing to code officials the ICC-ES report issued in January 2009. Dow will continue to offer the product’s 15-year limited thermal warranty and 40-year limited reuse warranty (for STYROFOAM DECKMATE(TM) Plus).

The United States Environmental Protection Agency, The Dow Chemical Company and the city of Dalton, GA partnered in a renewable energy source project that has far exceeded expectations in its first quarter of operation. The project takes gas from a Dalton landfill and uses it to fuel Dow’s latex carpet backing plant.

While in operation just three months, the latex carpet backing plant has already surpassed initial projections, according to Todd Crook, global marketing manager, Dow Flooring. Multiple carpet manufacturers have entered into agreements to use latex carpet backing produced with the fuel of LOMAX™ Technology, the name Dow bestowed upon this renewable energy source process. LOMAX Technology uses renewable energy (currently landfill gas) to manufacture latex carpet backings, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and assists customers in developing high performance products with sustainable attributes.

Dow partnered with the EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) in early 2008 and has gained knowledge through this partnership. As a result of the success of the Dalton Landfill project and the partnership with LMOP, Dow is in the evaluation phase of two to three other similar projects in the United States.

“While most Americans think of landfills as a final resting place for their garbage, they are actually a source of valuable, clean energy,” said Victoria Ludwig, manager of the LMOP. “Dow’s landfill gas capture program is one of many examples where American businesses are rethinking how they power their operations.”

LMOP is a voluntary assistance and partnership program that promotes the use of methane in landfill gas as an energy source. By preventing emissions of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) through the development of landfill gas energy projects, LMOP helps businesses, states, energy providers, and communities protect the environment and build a sustainable future.

“When carpet manufacturers and their customers choose Dow latex backing, they can not only feel good about getting the products, but also products with an improved environmental impact,” said Crook. “In the manufacturing of our latexes for carpet backing, our target is to replace nearly all the fossil fuel required to manufacture latex with methane gas that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere.” More than 85% of carpet manufactured today utilizes latex as a backing material to hold the carpet fibers in place. LOMAX Technology will use approximately 200 billion Btus annually of methane gas, which is equivalent to the amount of energy required to heat 2,100 US homes annually. By utilizing this landfill gas in the Dalton carpet latex plant, the partnership will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 25 million pounds annually—which is comparable to keeping 2,300 cars off the road each year.

While piping “garbage gas” from a landfill to fuel a manufacturing facility is not a new technology, it continues to gain popularity as businesses and municipalities search for products that specifically target the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the dependence on using fossil fuels. The carpet industry has pushed the sustainability issue, putting pressure on itself before the words “LEED” and “green” came to the forefront.

“Utilizing landfill gas to replace our fossil fuel consumption is truly improving our environmental footprint and equally important is that this is a sustainable attribute that is easy for consumers and specifiers to understand, which is a challenge in today’s rush to market green products,” Crook noted. “We are using renewable energy that is naturally generated in a landfill and using that energy to replace our fossil fuel. These kinds of initiatives will change things in our lifetime.”  

Developments like LOMAX Technology are in keeping with Dow’s 2015 sustainability goals, a multi-part program to address some of the most pressing economic, social and environmental concerns facing the global community over the next 10 years.